It puts us as spectators in a scenario where we are not supposed to be. There is the idea of invasion of privacy, voyeurism.
Presence of Impressionism influence in the way the light “invades” the room bathing the character and highlighting her while the rest of the room is kept quiet, still.
The game of light and shadow defines both character and room. The way the light treats both character and the environment she is in creates contrast reinforces the idea that she is protagonist.
Back to the spectators view, the scene raises questions and leaves the answers to our imagination. There is a narrative in which we are let to know that something dramatic has or is about to happen.
These same aspects are present in Alfred Hitchcock Psycho‘s introducing scene where we are driven through a window to a room where we are not supposed to be, to “spy” on a couple who is doing something they shouldn’t be doing, invading this way their privacy.
